The question is a timely one for America’s tech companies, which are often at odds with the government on privacy.

The forum featured a panel that included Microsoft’s top lawyer, Brad Smith; Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., whose district includes the Microsoft campus; and attorney Gabe Rottman from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Despite the tension, Smith insisted that the government does take steps to protect privacy. For instance, he said, the FBI is always working on bringing down the botnets that hackers use to attack businesses and individuals. That helps keep customer information private and out of the hands of the “bad guys.” But, of course, the FBI isn’t going after the National Security Administration’s hackers to try to shut them down, too.

Smith said the government has an important role to play in ensuring cyberspace is safe, and in many ways the government is doing that. But that doesn’t mean the government can violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and make illegal searches or seizures of information.

“Whether we’re talking about cyberspace or public space, it should be done via a clear legal framework … with the same democratic protections we’ve long enjoyed,” Smith said.

It’s an interesting question: How can tech companies and the government work together while keeping things safely separate, especially when, for instance, handing over a customer's personal information benefits the tech company?

A good example of that was when Microsoft accessed a blogger’s email when it became suspicious that the blogger was stealing trade secrets. After that case got national attention, Microsoft changed its policies on accessing its own customers’ information when they’re suspected of illegal behavior and said it would turn that information over to the police, rather than investigating itself.

“You should not be investigated until the government can articulate why it’s investigating you,” Rottman said.

That should probably be true of the companies we trust with our personal information with, as well.